Smoked
by FreakyGreenEyes123
Summary: Stef gets to Rita's house-fire before Callie gets out. A different take on the ending scene to episode 2x08 'Girls Reunited.' THREE SHOT
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I own nothing. **

**Also, I've changed a few things to make this work. Just how I wanted it to go down.**

* * *

Callie felt bad about calling Stef and asking her to bring another set of clothes at this time of night. But after talking with Rita, she realized that she hadn't only come here for community day. She used that excuse and she, herself, wanted _that_ to be her excuse. But in all honestly, she still wasn't ready to leave, despite Devani's attempts to send her back home.

By the time she dialed Stef's number, she considered hanging up and trying Brandon instead. But the phone already started ringing and asking her "eventual" brother to grab some underwear from her drawer seemed a little awkward considering their past. And even _not_ considering her past, it would still feel that way. But something about asking her foster-moms for things, still didn't feel quite right for Callie. Which was part of the reason she got a part-time job in the first place, though she wouldn't tell them that.

Stef answered on the second ring, "Hello?"

"Hey, Stef?" Callie asked stupidly and she suddenly remembered she called the woman's cell rather than her house phone.

Stef laughed, "Yes…Mariana?"

"No, it's Callie," the girl said in confusion.

"I know who it is, sweets. I have caller-ID," Stef answered jokingly. "What's up? Do you need me to pick you up from Girls United?"

"No…" Callie mumbled in a low voice, still contemplating on whether or not she should ask her. It's not like she wasn't used to being told 'no' but it still made her feel awkward, having to ask adults for things when she had planned to be on her own by now.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?" Stef asked in a more alert tone, as she sat up from her bed and began to pull the covers off and slip her slippers on.

"No, no. Nothing like that," Callie answered abruptly.

"Okay...Do you need me to bring you something?"

"Yes," Callie answered without hesitation and she couldn't hide the excitement from her voice that hinted, that she was glad she didn't have to literally ask her. "But you don't have to, you know…if you don't want to," Callie reminded her.

"Well, you are definitely _not_ Mariana," Stef chuckled on the other line of the phone.

"Huh?"

"Mariana would purposely make Lena and I drive back and forth every time she slept over at Lexi's. I kid you not, at least 3 car rides until she got tired of calling…or fell asleep."

Callie smiled at the thought, "And you didn't get mad?"

"By the fourth time, yeah we got mad," Stefs chuckled. "But we always knew that it was because she missed not having us around to drive us crazy throughout the night. Eventually, we only allowed Lexi to sleep over here, because it was getting to be a bit much."

"Oh," Callie answered on the other line, not wanting to cause for any more stress on the woman. "You know what? That's okay. I can see if Cole or Kiara can lend me something to wear for tomorrow. It's not a problem."

"No, Callie. I didn't mean…" Stef sighed trying to find the right words to say. _Why was she always sticking her foot in her mouth with the people she loved?_ she wondered. "What do you want me to bring you?"

"No, noth—"

"Callie, I'm driving over there in about a minute, regardless. So you can either tell me now, so I can bring it to you or you can _not_ tell me…but the if that's the case, you'll have to entertain me for a long time, just so I don't feel like I came over for no reason. It's your choice, so choose wisely…" Stef added sternly, as she furrowed her eyebrows on the other line, waiting for a response, but suddenly realizing that it was pointless because Callie couldn't see her from over the phone. "Hello?" she said when she hadn't heard a quick response.

"…Just some more clothes…not a lot, but just for tomorrow. I don't think I'm ready to come home just yet."

It didn't take long for Stef to realize that Callie just called their house "home," but she didn't want to make things anymore awkward between them or embarrass the girl if she didn't, herself, realize she said it. "Uhm, sure," Stef answered with a huge smile spread across her face. "Not a problem. I can't sleep and I'm sitting here all alone anyway, so I could use the distraction… Is that it?"

"Uhuh," Callie answered semi-honestly. She realized that she felt just like Mariana had when she called them from her sleepovers.

"Okay. I'll be right there," Stef answered as she waited for Callie to hang up before she squealed on the other end and called Lena's cell.

* * *

Callie had been the only one who had lain awake as she waited for Stef to get there. It wasn't very late at all, but the girls at Girls United always head to bed early since they had to be up before 6am. Callie glanced at her cell phone for the fifteenth time before she headed toward the bathroom, having to check the screen every once in a while because she had it on silent.

By the time she looked back up, she noticed Carmen walking towards the bathroom and they both paused when they noticed each other, "Hey, Callie. What are you doing up? I'm surprised you're still here."

"Me too," Callie admitted. "I don't know. I'm thinking that I'm going home soon. Stef's on her way, and I'm probably just going to go with her." She hadn't planned on it, but listening to Stef say she was alone and couldn't sleep, did make her feel guilty for some reason.

"You don't sound too sure?"

"No, I am. I am," Callie made up her mind.

"Alright," Carmen said as she pulled her in for a hug, "Don't forget to tell Rita."

"Uhm, I'll probably leave her a note though. We all know how cranky she gets when she gets woken up," she reminded her.

"That's a good idea. Thanks for the advice," Callie said.

"Are you going to the bathroom?" Carmen asked as she pointed toward the door.

"Yeah, but I'll use the one downstairs. It's not a problem," Callie answered. "Bye."

"Bye, be safe," Carmen added.

"You too," Callie finished as she walked back into her old room to grab her overnight bag.

* * *

"You're leaving already?" Kiara asked, as she sat upright at the sound that Callie made when she hit her foot on the bedframe.

"Yeah."

"It's not because of Devani is it? She really wouldn't be stupid enough to come back and do something. And if she did, I promise you that she will regret it," Kiara answered with an obvious attitude, which made Callie laugh.

"No, it's not because of her… I just… I think Stef needs me."

"Uhuh," Kiara answered in complete disbelief. "Stef needs _you_. That's why you're leaving. You're just trying to be a good person _everywhere..._"

"Kiara," Callie whisper-yelled.

"I'm just saying. Don't be gettin' all soft on me all of a sudden."

"I'm not," Callie assured her as she stared at her bag as if she'd change her mind.

"I'm just playin' with you, girl. Don't you know how to take a joke? Geez, you're too easy."

Callie laughed, "Thanks."

"I'm really happy for you, Callie. You have a family who loves you and cares. And you're really doing really good. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise…especially not Devani's sorry-ass."

"I won't," Callie smiled. "I'm going to miss you."

"Girl, just because you got a family doesn't mean you can forget about us," Kiara explains, "You better visit," she says in a harsher tone.

"I will. Next weekend. I promise."

"Imma hold you to it," Kiara threatened. "Now, stop making all that damn noise and get outta here," she continued jokingly as she pulled he covers over her body. "A girl gotta get up at the crack of dawn in this mothaf—"

"I love you too, Kiara," Callie interrupted as she grabbed her duffel bag from the table and walked toward the door. "Tell the other girls I said bye, for me. I don't want to wake them if they're still asleep."

"Yeah… This weekend," Kiara repeated.

"You got it," Callie answered as she closed the door behind her and shook her head.

* * *

As soon as she got to the foot of the stairs, Callie began to notice a strange smell in coming from around there. At first, she thought about ignoring it, assuming that it was probably nothing, but she glanced at her cell once more and noticed that Stef still didn't call, so she followed the faint smell out of curiosity.

After realizing it was coming from the basement, she remembered that there had been some underground stuff going on and her first instinct was that it was Cole.

She opened the basement door and turned on the light and walked down, having already done so a billion times, every time she had to turn the power back on in the house.

And when she got to the bottom, she noticed the smell getting stronger and stronger. And when she followed it, she hadn't expected to see Becka hiding in between a couple of cardboard boxes. "Becka? What are you doing?" she asked in confusion.

"Shit, Callie! You scared the crap out of me. I thought it was Rita," Becka said as she started to stand up and walk toward the stairs.

That's when Callie saw the crack-pipe in the trash and she realized what was going on. "Becka, wait!" she yelled as she followed her up.

"Lower your voice," Becka whispered-yelled as she held stood at the doorway at the top of the stairs.

"Where is it?" Callie asked in a stern voice, holding up her hand for Becka to hand it over.

"Where is what?" Becka answered innocently.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. Just give it to me. Don't make this any harder than it has to be."

"I really don't."

"Oh really? Hm, okay... Then why don't I go wake Rita and ask her if she can tell what the smell is?"

"Damn Callie! Fine! Here!" Becka yelled as she handed Callie the bag that was in her pocket. "Are you happy now?"

"Empty the other one," Callie ordered.

Becka rolled her eyes and handed her the other two small bags that were in her other pocket.

"Is that it?" Callie asked her.

"Yeah."

"Why would you do this? You were getting so much better, Becka. You were going home..."

Becka let out a frustrated sigh, "It was a mistake. I'll never do it again, okay? Just please don't tell Rita. I don't want one stupid slip to be the reason I don't get to go home."

Callie stared at the desperate look on Becka's face and she could tell that she didn't look all that different. Maybe she hadn't gotten high at all, and maybe she was telling the truth. But she knew that arguing with her now, wasn't going to do any good for either of them, especially if Becka was actually high.

"Just go to bed," Callie said as she pointed the girl towards the hall.

Becka hesitated before she glanced down at the bags in Callie's hand.

"I'm going to flush them," Callie admitted. "Go," she instructed as she watched Becka walk away but not before she mumbled a 'thank you' from the other side.

* * *

Callie rolled her eyes before she made her way towards the bathroom, making sure she closed and locked the door behind her, just in case Rita came in. She dropped her duffle bag onto the ground and glanced down at the three bags of crystal in her hand. She couldn't help but wonder why Becka would choose to ruin everything for this crap.

She wanted to believe Becka when she spoke, and she knew that there was a chance that it was probably only a slip.

But she also knew that if it was that easy to have a slip in this house, it would be ten times more enticing for her to mess up all of her progress out there in the real world.

She had to tell Rita, but it was going to be hard for her. _Becka wasn't ready to leave_, Callie convinced herself.

Maybe that's why Callie, herself, came back here and that's how she knew it wasn't Becka's time yet. Maybe Callie wasn't ready to leave either…

Callie opened the plastic baggies and emptied their contents into the toilet bowl and watched as all of the rocks span in circles as she flushed it. She grabbed some toilet paper and wrapped the bags around with it, making sure that it wouldn't be seen by any of the other girls or Rita.

She turned on the sink and stared at the running water for a while, as she washed the smell off of her her hands. By the time she woke from her daze, she began hearing the fire alarm going off.

"What the hell?" she mumbled as she took a deep breath and shut off the water and dried her hands with the hand towel. At first she didn't think much of it, since the fire alarm went off quite frequently in the house whenever they cooked, especially whenever Becka cooked. So she assumed that it picked up on the smell of the smoke. _A little late,_ Callie thought to herself and shook her head.

Rita would surely wake up and she'd have to explain the whole situation to her, so that all of the girls didn't get in trouble. But Callie wasn't ready to glance at the look of betrayal on Becka's face just yet.

She needed to gather her thoughts first…

* * *

**Kay guys. I promise things will get more interesting next chapter and this WILL be a Stef/Callie story. But all of these things needed to happen beforehand to make it work.**

**It will be a two or three shot and will be completed soon. I won't take forever. PROMISE. **


	2. Chapter 2

Callie turned the water back on from the faucet so that she could drown out the sound of the stupid alarm going off. She kept going back and forth in her mind, trying to determine whether or not she should tell Rita.

_Who was she to determine when one of the girls got to go home?_

_Has she given up on her own addiction?_ she wondered. And the fact that she couldn't answer her own question, made her feel even worse.

_If she didn't and she got to got home to the Fosters, then what gave her the right to blame Becka for hers? _

_Wasn't that one of the things she came to Girl's United for? To realize that they were all essentially the same and they all had addictions and needed to overcome them?_

_Why couldn't she say with a hundred percent certainty that she had succeeded in doing so?_

She looked down at her cell again and asked herself, 'What would Stef do?'

* * *

As soon as Rita heard the fire alarm go off, she sat upright from her bed and threw her slippers on. Seconds later, the smell of smoke began to fill her nostrils and she sniffed again just to be sure that's what it was, before she tried to open her eyes all the way. She could barely see anything with the light off, but that didn't stop her from getting up without a second thought and throwing her bedroom door all the way open.

By the time she got out, her vision didn't get much better even with the lights in the hallway that were on. The smell of smoke and the fog had permeated through the entire first floor. "GIRLS!" she yelled as she immediately began to barge up the stairs, automatically assuming that they were all still asleep. "GIRLS! GET OUT OF THE HOUSE! KIARA!" she continued to wail as she threw Kiara's door open, "CALLIE! COLE! OUT OF THE HOUSE, NOW! GIRLS"

Becka, Cole, and Kiara met Rita in the hallway at the exact same time and they all knew what was going on when they, themselves, saw the smoke. "WHERE'S DEVANI?" Rita asked

"She's not here," Cole admitted.

"WHAT?"

"She ran away," Kiara answered.

"ARE YOU SURE?"

All three girls nodded in unison. "WHAT ABOUT CALLIE? WHERE'S CALLIE?"

"She went home. She told me to tell you all she said bye," Kiara told Rita.

"She said she'd leave you a note," Carmen confirmed.

"ALRIGHT! ALL OF YOU, GET OUT OF THE HOUSE! DOWN THE STAIRS" she yelled as she followed the girls all the way out the front door. Once they all exited, they breathed sighs of relief. "Get back! Get away from the house!" Rita continued as she pushed the girls farther and farther away from fear of an explosion. "Carmen, go to the neighbor's house and have them call the fire department."

"Which one?" Carmen asked as she stared at all of the houses.

"Any one!" Rita yelled as she pushed her in the direction of the nearest house.

"What about all of our stuff?" Kiara complained as she looked back at her upstairs bedroom window with a sad expression evident on her face.

"Screw it," Rita answered her, which caused both Kiara and Becka to raise their eyebrows in confusion and glance at eachother. She was completely oblivious of this while she kept staring at house and watching the windows fog up. "As long as everyone's safe, that's all that matters."

"How did the fire start anyway?" Cole asked in confusion. "Somebody must've started it..." He kept thinking back to what Devani said about hoping they were all light sleepers. He couldn't help but blame himself for getting so close to her in the first place. And even if he did, shouldn't he have realized just how dangerous she was beforehand.

Becka shrugged her shoulders before she lifted her finger to bite her nail. She too was wondering if she had thrown the match into the trashcan too soon after she blew it out... or if she blew it out.

* * *

Callie's sense of smell had been off since she went down into the basement and found Becka. The horrible stench was still all over the first floor and she hadn't noticed the smell of smoke become stronger and stronger until she actually saw it forming in the mirror of her reflection. It wasn't in her mind anymore. The smell was real.

Immediately she turned her head towards the source, and realized that the mist was coming from the bottom of the bathroom door.

Her eyes widened instantly as she dropped her cellphone into the sink and rushed to put her palm on the doorknob, "Ah" she yelled as she quickly retracted her hand because she got burned from the heat coming from the metal handle. Callie stared at her hand momentarily and then back at the door with fear, as she attempted to press her body against the door for any signs of movement. When she heard what sounded to her like something burning, she realized just how wrong she had been before.

"RITA!" she yelled from the inside, while she tried to grab one of the towels and wrap it around her hand. She attempted to open the door again and let out a breath when the doorknob finally twisted. But when she tried to pull it open, the door would barely budge, because of the heat from the fire that was forcing it to retract back. "HELP!" she screamed louder before she tried to pull the door open again and again but had no such luck.

She heard the flames getting closer and closer to the point, where she could barely stand next to the door anymore from the heat penetrating through. She began hyperventilating as she made her way toward the small and now foggy window. She tried to pull it open but it wouldn't budge and that's when she realized that it was probably glued shut. Still, she removed the latches on it and tried again, but it still wouldn't move. She pushed as hard as she could on it again, and was almost sure she had dislocated her shoulder in the process, but she couldn't get it up no matter how many times she attempted to move the latches back and forth. The smoke filling her lungs just made things all the more worse, and it didn't help that her breathing had become more and more frequent from the fear she felt at that exact moment. She kept coughing, silently wondering if the long breaths she'd take after each cough was making her cough even more.

As soon as Callie heard the wood of the bathroom door start to crack from the other side, she ran towards the shower and turned the shower knob on, pointing the showerhead over toward the entrance, not caring about wetting the floor anymore.

By now the entire bathroom was filled with smoke, and she could barely see anything as she grabbed the metal soap dispenser and began banging it against the window, in an attempt to shatter the glass. She continued to cough and tried her best not to take too many breaths, realizing that her coughs were becoming more hoarse as her airways were filling with the black smoke of the burning wood. As soon as she finished shattering the glass, she took a deep breath from the outside window before she yelled, "HELP!" for the last time.

* * *

Stef pulled onto the street of the Girls United house and sped even faster when she realized the red and blue lights were coming from that area. Immediately the hairs on the back of her neck began to stand up, as the vehicles were approaching closer and closer until a ton of police cars and ambulances were revealed to her. She came to an abrupt stop, directly in back of the ambulance truck as soon as she saw the flames that were coming out of the front window of the house on the first floor. She swung the driver's side door open all the way, almost breaking it off of the vehicle, as she began running around to the other side. "Callie!" she yelled as she rushed over to try to find her daughter in the group of girls that were on the sidewalk.

"What happened? Where's Callie?" she asked them, while her eyes attempted to scan the crowd of people surrounding her, but the flashing lights weren't allowing her to see each and every one of their faces very well.

"I thought you came to pick her up!" Rita yelled from fear, as she stared at the woman and then quickly back at the house.

"WHAT!" Stef snapped as her eyes began to flutter even faster at the people around her.

"She's still in the bathroom," Becka said the moment she put two-and-two together.

Stef's mouth hung open and her eyes froze from panic, before her adrenaline kicked in and she raced toward the entrance of the house, that was now blowing out black smoke "CALLIE!" she wailed as she cut through the grass in her slippers.

"MA'AM! YOU CAN'T GO IN THERE! IT'S NOT SAFE!" one of the firefighters yelled who was too busy holding the water hose toward the house to stop her. "SHE'S GOING IN!" he yelled at the group of firefighters who were closer towards the entrance.

"THERE'S SOMEONE IN THE HOUSE! SHE'S IN THE BATHROOM" Rita yelled at the man, while she, herself, began running toward what was once The Girls United Home and was now a death sentence to anyone who entered. The police officers on scene quickly grabbed hold of Rita since they were closest to her, and kept her from making her way inside.

"THERE'S A CIVILIAN IN THE HOUSE!" he yelled at the four other firefighters, who all had looks of defeat on their pale faces.

As soon as Stef tried to make her way toward the porch steps, one of the men tried to hold her back.

"GET OFF OF ME! MY DAUGHTERS IN THERE!" she yelled. Her eyes were focused on the front entrance, which looked to be the only visible way of getting inside, considering the massive amount of fire that was covering the windows. She tried to push the man away as hard as she could, with no intention of stopping until he let her go. And just as she was finally able to, another firefighter rushed over to restrain her, grabbing both of her arms behind her back. A trail of tears began to flow down both her eyes as she was forced to watch the wood from the doorway catch on fire and fall, almost hitting one of the firefighters on the helmet, hence blocking the doorway.

An entire flow of firefighters began encircling the building, as Stef, Rita, and everyone else were forced to sit on the sidelines and watch the house be demolished.

* * *

**To Be Continued…**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: This final chapter was the sole reason I decided to write this alternate ending. And the previous two chapters were merely setting the scene for it, so just so you know.**

* * *

Stef's mind went blank as she stared at the brown house and watched as the fire slowly but at the same time quickly melted it away. The yells and screams of everyone around her appeared muffled in that exact moment, as she was trying to ignore her new reality. Her mind blocked out the sirens that were merely getting louder and louder from the tons of police cars that were racing to get to the scene too late. The water, that was spraying through the fire hoses and aimed at the house, was drenching her and all of those holding her back. But that was the least of her worries.

All of the neighbors in the houses nearby had evacuated their own homes and stood across the street watching the scene unfold in horror, while the younger ones came up closer with their cellphones pulled out, attempting to get the whole thing on video, so that the entire AdamsFoster family would be forced to relive the moment when it was replayed over and over again on the different news channels.

Stef was at a loss of words as she stared at the doorway that had now, only barely become visible because of the water that was being pointed towards it. But for the most part, it was a lost cause. Even still, she couldn't understand why the firefighters, who were supposed to be going inside of the burning building to save her daughter, were backing away farther and farther, despite the rising intensity of the flames.

"No one's making it in or out," one of the firefighters mentioned to a police officer as they walked passed Stef, as if this hadn't just happened a few seconds ago. His words struck her hard as she watched the wood from the highest floor collapse, destroying the edge of the roof in the process. Stef didn't have the strength anymore to fight off the three men that were holding her back, but the man's words kept repeating in her mind as her knees dropped onto the floor in defeat.

Her mind was going a thousand miles per minute, trying to understand everything that was happening, while she was also trying to deny the horrible truth at once.

_But silence was all she heard._

_Not the loud sound of the fire burning the wood_

_Not the screams from Kiara, Becka, Cole and Rita_

_Not the orders from the police officers as they kept barking orders at everyone to keep back._

_Just silence_

* * *

Had it not been for that selective attention she placed on herself, she would've never heard the yell for help, coming from the direction of the house. And if she didn't know any better, she was almost positive it was Callie's voice. Her eyes and ears instantly perked up as she tried to listen for the voice again.

By now there was only one man holding her back, because the other two had realized she stopped fighting them. But he was too busy trying to console her, to listen to the sound or see what she was getting ready to do. Her knees immediately rose from the ground and the man tried to help her up, assuming that she was only trying to contain her composure. He hadn't noticed from his position behind her, that she was preparing herself to start running towards the voice.

"She's still in there," she mumbled, almost emotion-less, as her eyes retained focus on every inch of the house, just searching for the easiest way in. "SHE'S STILL IN THERE!" she yelled out this time so that all of the men alongside the house could hear. The fireman holding her back grabbed onto her wrist, when he thought she was losing it. "CALLIE!"

"MA'AM"

"NO! SHE'S ALIVE!" she tuned around to yell at him. "I HEARD HER!" The man wrapped his hand tighter around her wrist, out of fear that she was really going towards the house. Stef was forced to turn back around and push, kick, and punch him until he let go, while the other firefighters began surrounding the house for any sign of the girl that she heard.

"CALLIE!" she wailed again and the second she released herself from his grasp, she ran for the door, only to feel another person grabbing her arms from behind.

"Stef!" she heard the woman say, which cause the blonde to whip her body around to try and fight whoever it was who was holding her.

"Stef, she's gone!" Captain Roberts yelled out loud, in an effort to get through to the woman.

"No," Stef answered in a determined voice as she turned her head around.

Roberts mimicked the woman's moves and forced her to stare directly into her eyes. "Stef!" she argued as she allowed the blonde to keep fighting her in an effort to get her to release her grasp.

"No! Captain, let me go!" she shouted as she pushed the woman away but Roberts wrapped both of her arms around the blonde and held her close towards her body, so that now she had no choice but to look away from the house.

"I'm sorry, Stef. But I'm not going to let you kill yourself," she muttered as she held the woman tighter, showing her that she in fact was a lot stronger and there was no way that she would get away from her. "She's gone," she repeated so that Stef would finally accept the truth.

Stef felt her heart sink and her breathing stop, as she was compelled to accept everything that was being told to her.

_Had she imagined it?_

_Had it not been Callie's voice at all?_

Those were the only questions flowing through her mind as she willed herself not to glance around and see the house.

_She couldn't see the house._

_It would've made everything all the more real._

_She wouldn't see the home burning down like everyone else was. _

_She would see Callie screaming in agony from the fire that melted away at her flesh._

Stef kept her eyes trained on the flashing lights of the two fire trucks that were just making their way to the front of the house from down the street. She focused on the reflections of the police car lights on the pavement, and she knew that she would never see them again without being reminded of this very moment. But she needed to keep her eyes trained on anything except for the faces of all of the people that were peering at the house.

But the one constant reminder, no matter how badly she wanted to abstain from turning around, was the horrible stench that came from the burning house, the same odor that she was almost positive that she'd never be able to omit from her nostrils.

She wrapped her arms around the same woman, who she was trying to push away just a few seconds earlier, and placed her chin on her shoulders, trying to find any type of comfort that she could. But she held on tighter, mostly so that she wouldn't have to turn her head around and see the visions that were still clouding her mind as she sobbed with acceptance.

* * *

"Get her a mask!" a man's voice yelled from behind Stef and at first she thought she had misheard him. She refused to let go of the woman from fear that she'd been imagining another voice again. She couldn't lose the girl twice.

And she couldn't handle turning around and having Callie not be there.

Captain Roberts had been attempting to shield Stef for as long as possible and refusing to let her go. Her eyes focused on everything that was happening before her and it took a while for the woman to finally release the pressure she had on Stef.

"Stef," she mumbled as her eyes focused on something else until she wasn't holding the woman back anymore.

Stef looked at the shocked expression on her boss's face, which overpowered the urge she had not to look back again.

And when she did, she could see the E.M.T. running towards Callie with an oxygen mask in his hand. She could see the two firemen that were carrying her away from the house, because she could barely move or even keep her eyes open all the way for that matter.

Stef's eyes widened at the scene and she stood frozen as she stared at the girl, from fear that this hadn't been real.

_No, they told her she was gone._

_That there was no way that anyone was getting in or out._

_They held her back._

But when they placed the mask over Callie's face, everyone watched as she struggled to breathe until her eyes were able to open all the way. And that was when Stef noticed Rita walking towards her and she knew this was really happening. Almost instantly when Callie was able to fully open her eyes, she turned her attention toward the blonde woman who was just staring at her from afar as if she had just seen a ghost.

"Callie?" Stef practically whispered to herself and the only person who heard her was the woman next to her. "Callie?" she yelled this time as she allowed one foot to move in front of the other, until she was running towards the side of the house where they brought her from. The woman quickly grabbed hold of the girl and wrapped her hands around both of her shoulders, finally letting out the deep breath that she had been holding in, ever since they told her that she was gone.

"Mmn… Stef?" the girl mumbled, which caused Stef's eyes to gleam before she pulled the girl closer towards her body, from fear that she would be yanked away again. The older woman placed both hands on the back of Callie's head and tried her best not to hold on too tight. Even though the touch of the girl, she was embracing, was the only thing keeping her together at this point.

She wanted the girl to keep talking, to keep reminding her that she was still alive. And as Stef's breathing became more regular so did Callie's. Callie held onto the oxygen mask with one hand and she held on to Stef with the other, regardless of the fact that the C.M.T. was trying to separate them, so that Callie wouldn't have to feel any more pressure on her body. But both of their fears were stronger than the man's as they held onto each other for dear life.

Stef finally heard the man's voice and released her tight grip off of the teen, as much as she could, but not too much, since she still needed to hold on to her at that very second.

"Callie… Oh baby, I'm so sorry," Stef cried as she tried to fight the urge to hug her again. "I should've gone in there."

Callie shook her head and mumbled a "No" which surprised the woman.

"No, this is my fault. I heard you and I did nothing. I should've fought harder to save you—"

"You did," she answered in a determined voice. "You were the only one who heard me yelling. And I heard your voice too… That was the only thing that kept me from making it out. I had to follow it because I couldn't see anything with all the smoke…"

Stef furrowed her eyebrows at the teen, and watched as the girl closed her eyes again and struggled to catch her breath.

"She's right," one of the firemen that had found Callie said. "She forced herself out of the window, a window that I don't even think a toddler could fit through." The man's face depicted confusion before he continued, "…It's where we found her lying on the ground. We still don't know how she was able to make it through but she did. It's just one of those things that we will never understand."

"It was a miracle," Rita said she moved Callie's hair out of her face.

Callie looked up at Stef as her breathing started to even out. Stef's eyes began to well up again, before she pulled the girl back into her arms and let out a deep sigh. "I love you," she said, before she pulled Callie in closer and cried into her shoulder.

Afterwards, she was finally able to place her gaze back onto the house, that was now free from fire but still filled with smoke.

_Callie was out of it._

_That's all the mattered now._

_And yes it was a miracle._

**THE END**

* * *

**A/N: I know a lot of you wanted to see Stef save Callie. And I'll be honest, that's exactly what I had in mind when I started writing this story. But I thought this way would be more dramatic, and I'm all for what causes the most drama so that's what happened there. And she actually did save her in a different kind of way, so I got to have BOTH happen.**

**Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.**

**I'd love to hear your thoughts, good or bad. And thanks for reading :)**


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